Just One of the Guys

Knox

**Averi: I'm sorry. I can't go into specifics, and I really appreciate that you want to be here for me but right now, just know that I do care about you, a lot actually.**

**Averi: I feel bad for how everything went down; I just need time to work through some things. **

**Averi: Please forgive me for making such a mess of things and I do hope you understand. I didn't mean to hurt you, that was never my intention.**

**Averi: I'll try to explain everything one day if I can.**

I didn't see Averi's messages until I pulled out my phone to text Gentry to find out how Corbin was doing.

**Knox: Can we talk later? One of my friends got hurt really badly tonight and he's in the hospital, but I would like to talk if we can.**

Then I pull off Gentry's contact information, realizing that I never got Corbin's.

**Knox: How is he? Any update?** *Fuck!*

Turning around, I punch the doorframe to my room. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is Corbin lying in Gentry's arms, all bruised and bloody. Could I have stopped this from happening if Colt and I hadn't bailed? I can't help but feel like maybe I could have, and I feel guilty as hell about it.

"Bloody mother fucker!" I roar, needing an outlet for this pent-up frustration.

I want to pummel that dipshit's face in until he passes out and when he comes to, do it all over again.

"Let's get out of here," Colt says, poking his head into my room. "Sitting here fuming isn't doing either of us any good. Let's just go down there so that we're there when he wakes up.

With a nod, I mutter, "Yeah, okay," while taking deep breaths, trying to calm down.

After I follow Colt out to the parking lot and climb into my truck, I start the engine, then placing the transmission in gear, we begin the drive to the hospital in silence: the scene I witnessed continuing to play in my head repeatedly. As I drive, the continuous loop gives me no relief, and I hit the steering wheel with my fist, cursing, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"You need to calm down, Knox," Colt says, not speaking again until I look at him, listening to him.

"If you go in there wanting to kick ass without even taking names, they are going to kick you out before we ever get to see Corbin. You need to chill the fuck out and get your head on straight. Got it?" he scolds.

"Dammit!" I growl, "I got it. But I don't fucking like it! That bloody wanker-"

I don't even get to finish before Colt cuts me off. "That bloody wanker, nothing! You knocked him out for what he did to Corbin, now make like Elsa, and let it fucking go!"

I know he's throwing in the Elsa shit to try to calm me, but his hands are fisting the material of his jeans; he may be acting calm as shit, but inside he's seething just as much as I am.

"I should have done more than knock the fucker out!" I growl as I roll down the window to get some fresh air and try to calm my ass down.

"I know, man. I know."

That's all that he says, and the rest of the drive continues in silence, aside from the sound of the wind whipping through the window.

As we pull into the hospital parking lot, Colt breaks the silence by asking, "Have you heard anything from Averi?"

I nod in answer but don't say anything as I try to find an empty parking space.

"Well?" he prods.

"Well, nothing. She still doesn't want to see me. She won't tell me what the hell's going on, and just keeps saying she needs time, but to trust her," I growl out as I find a parking spot, whip into it and then after throwing the shifter into park, bolt out the door, heading towards the ER entrance.

I find a spot and whip in, throwing the shifter into park and bolt out the door, heading towards the ER entrance.

There's a dark-haired man standing off to the side of the entrance talking on his phone. I assume he's a family member of someone being seen inside the Emergency Room doors, but as we get closer, he glances up at Colt and me, and I realize it's the guy who I pulled over to help on my way back from Berkshire.

I give him a head nod in acknowledgment and hear him tell the person on the other end of the line, "just a second, Jack," then he covers the speaker with his hand, commenting, "Good to see you son, thank you for your help the other day." "It was no problem. Glad I was able to help. I'm Knox by the way," I tell him, introducing myself and holding out my hand towards him.

He reaches out and places his hand in mine, giving a good firm handshake. "Kenny, nice to officially meet you."

Looking over my shoulder, I glance at Colt waiting just in front of the ER doors, then look back at Kenny. "I gotta go. I've got a friend inside that's hurt pretty bad."

"See ya around, kid," Kenny says with that same unnerving smile as before. I give him a two-fingered salute and meet back up with Colt, hearing him resume his call as we step up two the automatic sliding glass doors, the strong aroma of bleach assaulting my senses and sending a chill down my spine.

*Damn, I hate hospitals!*

"What was that about?" Colt asks as we cross over the threshold, entering the Emergency Room.

"That skeevy guy back there that gave off all kinds of bad vibes," he says, pointing over his shoulder and glancing back in the direction of Kenny.

"You picked up on the creepiness of that guy too? Glad it wasn't just me," I tell him.

"Oh yeah. Couldn't miss it. He's not someone I'd want to be acquainted with if I were you." Colt says, casting his eyes in my direction, cocking his right eyebrow and running his left hand through his long hair.

"No problem there. His car had broken down on the side of the road when I was headed back from Berkshire, he said his phone was dead too. I let him use mine to call a tow, and then got the hell out of dodge," I inform Colt.

"All right, man," he says, dropping it. "So, you never answered my question. Do you?"

"Do I what?" I ask, confused over what he's talking about. I need to find a nurse's station to figure out where I can find Corbin.

"Do you trust Averi?" he asks, reminding me we had been talking about Averi.

"Yes," I say, without hesitation. "With everything in me."

"Okay," he says with a nod. "Then trust her," he continues, "she wouldn't be pulling away and saying she needs time if there wasn't a reason-remember that."

*Damn it! I hate it when he's right!*

"Can you tell me where I can find Corbin McEvoy?" I ask as soon as I find the nurse's station.

"And you are?" the nurse asks with a snarky tone.

I take a deep breath in and breathe it back out before I respond, otherwise, I'm likely to fucking snap back at her. "I'm a friend," I mutter, continuing when she gives me that look my mama always gave me when I'd be pissy and give her an attitude, "I was one of the ones who found Corbin. Please, I just need to know if he's okay."

"Sorry," she says, her face softening, her voice portraying actual sympathy, not that fake crap that you get when they don't really mean it but act like they do. "Only family is permitted right now."

"But I am family!" I say, urging her to understand. "All of these people here to see Corbin are family."

Extending my arm out to indicate all the guys that have made their way to the lobby, pride welling up within me that I get to call them all my brothers, I say, "We go to the same school, we live in the same dorms, we spend all day every day together. We are family."

"I'm sorry, sir. I understand, I truly do, but rules are rules. My hands are tied," she softly states.

*Damn it!*

"Thank you!" I mutter and then turning towards the guys, I shake my head.

"No dice, huh?" Colt says as I take the open seat beside him.

"Not a damn thing," I growl in frustration. "Damn it!" I swear, smacking my leg and feeling overwhelmed with frustration and self-loathing. "We should have never bloody left!"

"Damn it, man. Stop with that shit!" Colt says, glaring at me, "There is nothing we could have done. He got himself shitfaced. Maybe we could have stepped in sooner, but we can't change the way things went down, so just fucking stop. Would ya?"

I nod, unable to say anything, or Colt and I may end up in a fight. That definitely won't solve anything, even if it would make me feel momentarily better-*but if the wrong mother fucker so much as looks at me cross, his ass is mine!* I pull out my phone and text a message to Averi.

**Knox: I could really use a friend right now.**

As an afterthought, I elaborate more. Maybe if she understands where my head is right now, she'll be more willing to put aside whatever this shit is that has her so scared and holding back, even if for just one night.

*I really fucking need her.*

**Knox: I'm in a dark place, babe, and I'm afraid I'm going to hurt someone if I don't settle down. I know that things are screwed up right now, but I could really use some of your light to try to push back the darkness that's settling in.** **Knox: I just...I need you, Averi.**

**Knox: Please.**

**Knox: Can you come to the Endover hospital?**

My leg bounces up and down, nerves getting the best of me as I wait for a response from Averi. I know she's going through some stuff of her own, but damn it, I need her. An hour later and still no word, according to the read receipt, she hasn't even read it. But it is 2:00am, so that could be why she's not answering.

Standing up, I begin pacing up and down the hallway.

*I hate hospitals!*

*Fucking. Hate. Them.*

My phone buzzes with a message. Thank fuck, I think as I pull out my phone to read Averi's message. My hope is dashed, the darkness moving deeper inside of me as I see it's not from her.

**Gentry: Still not awake but they've done x-rays: cracked ribs, dislocated shoulder, battered face, and a fractured wrist. Also has a concussion.**

**Gentry: Update the guys?**

**Knox: Fuck!**

**Knox: Yeah, I will. Thank you. They won't let me go back to see him because I'm not family.**

**Gentry: I said I was his brother. They didn't ask if I was a blood brother or not.**

**Knox: Fucker! Thanks!**

I walk back towards the guys in the waiting room. "Just heard from Gentry," I say, getting their attention, my voice taking on a deep edge that means I'm not far from the darkness completely consuming me. They all immediately look up at me, waiting to hear what I have to say.

"Corbin's not awake yet, but x-rays show he has cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a battered face, and a fractured wrist. He also has a concussion. Gentry's gonna keep us updated once he knows more or Corbin wakes up." “Thanks, man,” Asher says, standing up from his chair and walking over to me, giving me a hug. "Don't beat yourself up over it. It's not your fault."

When he pulls back, I just nod in response.

He nods back and then heads out the doors. The rest of the guys follow suit, each giving me a hug before heading back to campus. Before long, it's just me and Colt sitting in the lobby.

"You can head out too, get some rest. I'll stay here," I tell him when he yawns, then immediately turns around and yawns again, barely able to hold his eyes open.

He rolls over in the seat, keeps his eyes closed but says, "Not safe to drive. I'll sleep in the truck. Wake me if anything changes."

I dig the keys out of my pocket, ready to give them to him, but it takes several minutes before he's able to peel himself out of the chair, then snatching the keys out of my hand, he stumbles out of the emergency room. Shaking my head, I groan as the weight of the events of the past 2 days catches up with me.

*Bloody fucking hell-it's been a rough 48 hours!*

Sinking down in the hard plastic chair, I try to get as comfortable as I can. Closing my eyes, I lay my head back and wait for an update on Corbin.